Rwanda

Introduction of a new Value-added Tax (VAT) Law, new Property Tax Law, and new Excise Duty Law, as well as an amendment to the Income Tax Law (ITL), in September 2023 and the pension reforms effective January 2025 have resulted in the following significant changes to corporate taxation, to mention a few:

• Reduction of the corporate income tax (CIT) rate from 30% to 28%.
• Inclusion of online supplies within the scope of taxable goods and services for VAT.
• Sale of business assets for going concern is exempt from VAT provided that the transferring entity is engaged in supplying or providing exempted goods or services.
• Goods falling under the exemption umbrella for VAT attain a zero-rated status upon export.
• Locally assembled electric automotive vehicles, hybrid automotive vehicles, pertinent batteries, and their electric charging station equipment are zero-rated for VAT purposes.
• Introduction of tax on sale of immovable property for commercial use applicable on its sale value in excess of 5 million Rwandan francs (RWF) at the rate of 2% or 2.5%, depending on whether the seller is registered for income tax or not.
• Increase in the mandatory pension contribution from the 6% to 12% effective from January 2025. The rate will be increased to 14% effective from January 2027 and will progressively increase to 16%, 18%, and 20% annually between January 2028 and January 2030.